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EspañolDUSTIN DIAMOND
'Dustin Diamond' (born 'Dustin Neil Diamond' on January 7, 1977 in San Jose, California) is an actor, musician and stand-up comedian best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers on the television show ''Saved by the Bell''.
Biography
Early life
Diamond was born in San Jose, California. He was enrolled in Daniels Chapel AME Zion Elementary in Anaheim, California. His first job involved working as a live mannequin in a department store display. As a fifth grader, he landed the role of eighth-grader Samuel "Screech" Powers on the popular TV sitcom Saved by the Bell.
Career
Screech from ''Saved by the Bell''
Diamond's most memorable role was that of the nerdish Samuel "Screech" Powers on the television show ''Saved by the Bell'', a role he played for close to thirteen years, from its beginning as ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' (1988-89) through its final incarnation, '' (1995-2000).
Screech was originally supposed to have an extremely low pitched, almost bellowing voice, but instead it was decided that the character would possess a high adenoid, although not over-the-top tone instead.
Screech was frequently a pivotal figure in the schemes and pranks depicted in the show, from pretending to be an extraterrestrial (which almost resulted in his dissection at the hands of the government), to getting kidnapped by rival high school Valley in the ongoing inter-school "Prank War", and in one instance even winning the "Miss Bayside" Pageant. His parents, who were extremely obsessed with all things Elvis-related, were never seen, aside from one episode where his mother (played by Ruth Buzzi) leaves him in charge of the house as his parents went on a vacation to Graceland, which led to an episode-spanning dilemma involving a broken Elvis statue.
Screech's robot Kevin was also occasionally shown in some episodes but was eventually written out of the show.
Screech claimed to be descended from the "Great Italian lover and spy", Luigi Powerelli, making it clear that he is part Italian. In the final episode of the regular series, he magnanimously relinquishes the title of valedictorian to another character.
Continuing the series into college, '' shows most of the cast transplanted into not only the same college, but also the same college dormitory, where Screech continued his typical misadeventures.
After the end of that series, he quickly returned to Bayside High as principal Belding's assistant in ''The New Class'' episodes, remaining with the show until its cancellation.
On April 19, 2006, the official website for Adult Swim announced that ''Saved by the Bell'' was going back into production, with the original first series characters (save for Elizabeth Berkley) becoming the new staff of Bayside High. Screech would be the principal according to the report. However, it was all a hoax.
Appearances after ''Saved by the Bell''
Since ''Saved By The Bell'' ended, Diamond has been featured on a number of TV shows, including ''The Weakest Link'', and has participated in a celebrity boxing contest, and professional wrestling matches. Of special note is his appearance on ''Celebrity Boxing'', where he resoundingly defeated Ron Palillo, of ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' fame. Concerning his reaction to his decisive victory in the bout, Diamond claimed to have "...beaten Horshack like I was Soda Popinski". Later in 2007, he challenged Harvey Walden of Celebrity Fit Club Five to "physical combat," which did not take place.
Diamond released a video, ''Dustin Diamond Teaches Chess'' in which he shows various techniques for becoming a better chess player. It is punctuated by appearances by Dustin, in various costumes, such as dressing as Screech. In 2000, he made a guest appearance on short-lived WB Network comedy, ''Off Centre''.
Diamond appeared on the June 7, 2002 edition of ''The Opie and Anthony Show'', with co-guest Lil Jimmy Norton.
Diamond has a cameo appearance as himself in the movie ''Made'', in which Vince Vaughn's character incredulously questions a doorman at a club as to why "Screech" was allowed into the venue while he was not. Diamond also appeared as himself in two scenes in the 2003 comedy, ''.
In the May 2006 issue of ''Stuff'' magazine, readers voted Diamond the third most annoying former child actor that they would like to punch in the face. He was "beaten" by former child stars Danny Bonaduce and Corey Feldman.
Diamond plays Bernardo in ''Hamlet A.D.D.'' (2007), a partially-animated science fiction comedy based on Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''. Bernardo, the first character to appear in the film, is haunted by the ghost of Hamlet's dead father.
Diamond played himself in a cameo appearance on ''The Knights of Prosperity'' in an episode that aired January 31, 2007. In the episode, Kevin Michael Richardson is assigned to guard him while at his sparsely-attended stand-up acts and his hotel room.
Diamond was a cast member of the fifth season of ''Celebrity Fit Club'', during which his personality, his refusal to alter his dieting habits, his reliance on diet pills, his tendency to quit in the middle of physical challenges, and his antagonism of his castmates caused much conflict. He particularly came into conflict with former ''American Idol'' finalist, Kimberley Locke, country singer Cledus T. Judd, rapper Da Brat, and trainer Harvey Walden IV. At one point during the season, he apparently quit the show, but later returned. Despite his insistence that he had achieved a peaceful state of mind, he continued to sequester himself from enthused participation in group events, refused to offer encouragement to his teammates during weigh-ins, and responded to criticism from the show's judges by claiming that he was being unfairly targeted.[1]
Salty The Pocketknife
Diamond was a bass guitarist in the now defunct rock band Salty The Pocketknife.
Stand-up comedian
Diamond has performed stand-up comedy for many years. His comic style is very reminiscent to that of Bob Saget, referencing his sitcom years as well as using very blue humor in his stage act. He frequently defends his stand-up comedy career from critics that attribute his success to his former child star status, saying: "I hope people stop remembering me as Screech and remember me as Dustin Diamond. I think my stand-up routine is helping that."
Diamond has recently had trouble as a result of failing to show for a scheduled performance. Diamond was scheduled to appear at the University of Connecticut to give a stand-up comedy performance followed by a meet and greet on Thursday, February 8, 2007, but did not appear. According to Diamond's agent, Roger Paul of Roger Paul Management LLP, he failed to board his plane. All of the tickets purchased by students have been refunded and Diamond, having breached his contract, did not receive any payment.[2]
Personal life
Diamond was three years younger than most of the cast of ''Saved by the Bell''. Because of the age difference, he never was very close to any of the other teenage actors on the show. He said that while the other teenage actors went out together and got along, he basically did his own thing. He said that he did get along with T. K. Carter and Dennis Haskins. Diamond claims to still keep in touch with Haskins to this day.
Contrary to the rumor, he never dated Candace Cameron Bure.
Diamond used to date Beth Musolff, a West Allis, Wisconsin, native and former lead singer for gothic rock band You're Pretty.
His girlfriend Jennifer suffered a miscarriage of their first child in December 2004 due to an ectopic pregnancy. They later created the Dustin Diamond Foundation which supports organizations that specialize in child care.
dustindiamond.com
In 2003, Diamond attempted to take control of the domain dustindiamond.com, which was owned by Max Goldberg, the creator of YTMND. Diamond was apparently upset because some visitors were posting gay fantasies about him in the guestbook on dustindiamond.com. Diamond's lawyer, Herro & Lamont, LLC, served Goldberg with a cease and desist order that was unsuccessful.
In 2004, the case was submitted to the National Arbitration Forum acting on behalf of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Diamond ultimately lost the suit. The decision read, in part, "The Panel accepts Respondent’s argument that the “outrageous ugly and low-tech graphics and numerous errors and misspellings” as well as the sheer absurdity of the site’s claim that Dustin Diamond is a “FAMOUS SUPERSTAR AND SEX SYMBOL” clearly signal that the site is not meant to be taken seriously. Whether the site is regarded as parody, satire, or critical commentary, and notwithstanding Respondent’s assertion that “[l]awyers are notoriously bad at understanding how humor works,” this Panel finds that legitimate noncommercial fair use commentary is involved." Goldberg, then 21, represented himself through the suit.
The precedent-setting decision is believed to be the first time that a celebrity has lost a domain name dispute to a non-commercial parody site.[1]
Supposed debt
On June 11, 2006, Diamond appeared on the Dean Blundell show in Toronto on 102.1 The Edge revealing he was in fact "broke" and was facing foreclosure by a lender, as bad credit prevented him from getting a mortgage from a bank.
On June 13, 2006, Diamond appeared on ''The Howard Stern Show''. Diamond said he was given 30 days to come up with $250,000 USD or risk losing his Port Washington, Wisconsin, home for failing to make payments on his land lease. Diamond said he blamed Arthur Giraldo, a mortgage broker for New York Capital Exchange, who Diamond claims "screws over the working man then laughs at their expense"[2]. Diamond decided to sell t-shirts for $15 that had "I gave 15 dollars to help Screeech [''sic''] save his house" emblazoned on the front. He said that he would need to sell 30,000 t-shirts to completely cover the costs. He explained the extra 'e' in Screeech was needed because of copyright laws, since he does not own the rights to the name or character.
On June 14, 2006, Diamond did a phone interview with ''MTV Live'', the flagship show for MTV Canada promoting the sale of his "D-Shirts" to save his home.
In June 2006, Diamond appeared on "The Hamish and Andy Show", a Melbourne, Australian-based radio program. His phone interview was due to a contest conducted by the two hosts of the radio show called "Where the Bloody Hell Are They Now?," which consists of a race between the two to find ex-celebrities. Diamond was one celebrity, Vanilla Ice was the other. During the interview, Diamond was asked what had his life become after fame and what he was up to at that moment. He appealed to listeners to buy his T-shirts online from his website, www.getdshirts.com, to help him save his house, and anyone who bought a "D-shirt" would also get it personally autographed for an extra $5.
On August 14, 2006, Diamond was scheduled for an online television telethon, in an effort to raise funds to prevent the foreclosure on his house. His broadcast was canceled less than 90 minutes before it was to be aired live, as an executive at the startup online television network claimed that the foreclosure story lacked credibility, and that Diamond had "exhibited some really strange and obnoxious behavior." [3]
On September 2, 2006, Mike Nichols, the Ozaukee County columnist for the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' said in an article that Diamond was a fraud and the whole story about Diamond losing his house was a publicity stunt. On October 7, a follow-up article stated in interviews with several people that they had not received t-shirts after months of waiting, corroborating the alleged fraudulence.
Diamond's website claims that appreciation of his real estate resulted in his large debt. Usually the lessee of a mortgage still owns the real estate and merely uses it as collateral, thus benefiting from any appreciation. If Diamond must buy back his land at the request of his landlord, his situation would be better classified as eviction under the terms of a very harsh lease.
Sex tape
On November 13, 2006, Dustin Diamond's sex tape ''Screeched'', aka ''Saved by the Smell'', was released by Red Light District (making him at least the third former child star to perform in a porn movie after Scott Schwartz and Jaimee Foxworth). It features a bride-to-be, her bridesmaid, Diamond, and a friend of his named Dan Lockney all engaging in various sexual acts, including a "Dirty Sanchez".[3]
According to Diamond, the sex tape got out because he and some buddies allegedly have a "monthly gathering" wherein they allegedly exchange such tapes which earn points based on "what [we're] able to accomplish" on film. "We do it almost like poker. [The tape] could have been left out in anybody’s home, machine, computer." The people that are allegedly involved in this group are all, according to Diamond, 'profile people.' Diamond has expressed the belief that the tape was not leaked by any of those people, but that it may have been the significant other of Lockney.[4] Diamond's manager, Roger Paul, acknowledges there was hope that the tape would raise his client's profile.[5]
Death hoax
On or around May 22, 2007, a news report was posted on internet news sites stating that Dustin Diamond had fallen to his death while filming a movie in New Zealand.[6] This report was a hoax circulated by unknown parties from a bogus news story generated on the website fakeawish.com.[7] This site allows users to generate news stories formatted to appear as if they originated on Yahoo news.[8] The user can type in any name and a story that appears to be authentic will be generated. Links are embedded within the story that will, when clicked, unveil the hoax.
Select filmography
★ ''Celebrity Fit Club Season 5'' (2007) ... Himself
★ ''Knights of Prosperity'' (2007) ... Himself
★ ''Hamlet A.D.D.'' (2007) ... Bernardo
★ ''Screeched'' (2006) ... Himself
★ ''Tom Goes To The Mayor (2005).....himself
★ ''13th Grade'' (2005) ... Corey
★ ''Duck Dodgers'' (2005) TV Episode (voice) ... Xainius the Eternal
★ ''From Justin to Kelly'' (2003) ... Dork at Beach
★ '' (2003) ... Himself
★ ''TNA Wrestling(2002) ... himself
★ ''The Rerun Show'' (2002) TV Episode ... Doctor
★ ''Big Fat Liar'' (2002) ... Wolf Party Guest
★ ''Jane White Is Sick & Twisted'' (2002) ... Simone
★ ''Made'' (2001) ... Himself
★ ''Longshot'' (2000) ... Waiter
★ The Toolbox'' (1999) ... Thaddeus
★ ''Chairman of the Board'' (1998) ... Neil
★ ''Santa With Muscles'' (1996) ... Kid at mall
★ ''Bio-Dome'' (1996) ... Little Stevie
★ ''Kazaam'' (1996) ... Thief
★ ''Leprechaun 3'' (1995) ... Billy
★ ''Houseguest'' (1995) ... McDonald's Cashier
★ '' (1994) (TV) ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ '' ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ ''Rising Sun'' (1993) ... Annoying waiter at company party
★ ''Getting By'' ... Episode: "Pinball Wizard" (1993) TV Episode
★ '' (1993) TV Series ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ ''Saved by the Bell'' ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ '' (1992) (TV) ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ ''The Munsters Today'' (1990) TV Episode ... Rob
★ ''The Wonder Years'' (1989-1990) TV Episode ... Joey
★ ''She's Out of Control'' (1989) ... Kid on the Beach
★ ''Purple People Eater'' (1988) ... Big Z
★ ''Big Top Pee-wee'' (1988) ... Child - Deke
★ ''The Garbage Pail Kids Movie'' (1987) ... Scottie Pottie
★ ''The Secret of My Success'' (1987) ... Annoying kid at party
★ ''Teen Wolf Too'' (1987) ... Kid eating cheese at ball game
★ ''It's a Living'' (1987) TV Episode ... A Young Sonny
★ ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' (1987) TV Series ... Samuel "Screech" Powers
★ ''The Price of Life'' (1987) ... Young Stiles
★ ''Troll'' (1986) ... Homeless Kid
★ ''Yogi's Great Escape'' (1986) ... Chubby Kid
★ ''The Goonies'' (1985) ... Kid at Gas Station
★ ''Poison Ivy'' (1985) TV movie ... Trombone player in band at camp
References
1. "Dustin Diamond vs. Sgt. Harvery". May 20, 2007.
2. Has Screech Become 'Too Cool for School'?
3. Dustin Diamond Sex Tape: The Sub-Par Review
4. "Screech Has a Sex Tape!"; bodogbeat.com; September 29, 2006.. ''BoDog Beat''. September 29, 2006.
5. Dustin Diamond Sex Tape
6. Movers & Shakers: Dustin Diamond...AGAIN!
7. fakeawish.com
8. "Actor - Yo Name Falls To His Death In New Zealand"; swellserver.com; June 17, 2007.
External links
★
★ The Dustin Diamond Foundation
★ Dustin Diamond's official MySpace
★ Dustin Diamond's Childhood and Family Photos
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